Should we trawl the NHS data to find subjects for clinical trials?

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An article published in this week’s edition of The Economist is drawing attention to the fact that the number of clinical trials approved in Britain has dropped by 14% between 2005 and 2013. The piece states that trials have been moving to eastern Europe and China, where hurdles are fewer. Further, it is suggested that a change in the recruitment process for participants of clinical trials – trawling NHS data to find appropriate subjects and contacting them directly – would allow Britain not to lose its grasp on a valuable industry that is worth £30 billion a year.

“Allowing more studies to recruit patients in this way would give Britain a unique advantage. After all, it is the only country with a centralised patient data system. And there are ways to protect patients from abuses (…)”

What are your views on this proposal? We would like to know your thoughts about this issue.

The article can be assessed at: http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21608775-nation-losing-its-grip-va...